


Before White Clouds

by bledstars



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, I've been hyperfixated playing this game non stop since the release, Spoilers to the game, and just...i adore all of the characters so much, and just?? a prequel?? to what I hope is gonna be me writing more fire emblem things ., especially if you haven't gotten a lot of the support convos, maybe even stuff for fates and awakening cause.. i love those games too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 12:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20471366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bledstars/pseuds/bledstars
Summary: Jeralt never believed in happy endings.  He was a knight, a mercenary, his involvement with the church was by pure accident. And yet when he met his wife, everything changed. All of a sudden, the cynical man began to see the beauty in flowers, the charm of ordinary life. She with her long blue hair that fell softly around her face as she looked up at him with those dark blue eyes.





	Before White Clouds

Jeralt never believed in happy endings.He was a knight, a mercenary, his involvement with the church was by pure accident. And yet when he met his wife, everything changed. All of a sudden, the cynical man began to see the beauty in flowers, the charm of ordinary life. She with her long blue hair that fell softly around her face as she looked up at him with those dark blue eyes.

He had met her in the greenhouse, caring for the flowers there with such reverence that he almost thought to worship the plants with her. Unlike the other nuns, here hair was not pinned up, rather it fell wildly around her face that she held back with a simple headband. As she hummed some hymn that he never cared to learn, he couldn’t help but watch her work so gracefully. 

He never believed in the goddess, not even after Rhea had saved his life. He could not put histrust into a being that he could not see. The readings, the songs, none of it made a difference.But he believed in _her_, if she existed, if she whose soft smile could break down every wall he had carefully crafted down--there had to be a higher power.

She had told him that she was pregnant after he had come back from a two month long mission over dinner. She had said it as if she was describing the weather, while he gaped like a fish, speechless and worried. He had known her to be a happy woman, a kind woman, but also a sick woman. With fainting spells, and days where she could not get out of bed. He had overheard the healer telling her that she should strain herself too much, that pregnancy would be a difficult one if she chose to pursue that paths.

"I'm keeping her." She said as she took a bite of the fish dinner in front of her.

"You already know it's a girl?" He choked out, still trying to process the fact that he had come back to the a future he had not pictured for himself.

"No...not officially, but I'm positive that it's a girl. And you are not obligated to stay." 

"Well you'd have to tell Lady Rhea not to assign me--" 

"You know what I mean, Jeralt. I don't expect you to stay." 

"Oh." He blinked a couple of times before he rounded around the table and kneeled in front of her. Taking both of her hands and softly kissing them. "And why is that?" 

"You've told me that you never wanted to stay in one place for too long. That you were even considering leaving the knights, leaving the church so that you can quench your wanderlust. I could never ask you to--"

"To stay for my wife and my future child?" 

"We're not married." 

"Well that's why I'm on my knees aren't I?" There was a softness in his eyes, reserved only for her. And now it was her turn to be shocked as he pulled out the ring that once belonged to his own mother. "You know kid, your mother makes it incredibly difficult to be romantic sometimes." 

"Jeralt...I don't want you to—I don’t want a marriage of obligation, I don’t want you to resent me.” 

“Again, making it very difficult to be romantic, Lilith.” He chuckled low as he gazed upon the woman that he loved so deeply.“I am a man that has always been better with a sword than my mouth. Never a mage, never a politician. I write better than I speak and yet— When we first met, you had asked me what my dream was.” 

“And you told me you had none, that you didn’t care for dreams, that you only lived to survive the next day. Goddess you even made fun of me for my own dream. How you told me that I should find a nice noble man to marry and have babies with instead of a soulmate. Instead of a partner that would understand me, that would love me, that would always come home for dinner and have a family with.You said that I was naive—”

“I was wrong.” He cut her off before he pressed his lips onto her knuckles. “I just didn’t meet my dream yet. I want to share that dream with you, Lilith. I want to share the dream of marrying you, my soulmate, my Lily. My sweet love.I want to start a family with you, and maybe my heart and body knew before my brain did. But I want to have this baby girl with you, and have a normal commoners life, where I could come home to you for dinner. Where I could protect my wife and my daughter. Where I could grow old with you, that’s what I want.” 

“You’re saying I am your dream?” And later when he retold this story to the men in his troop as they greeted the future Mrs. Eisner, she would say she only started crying because of the hormones, he knew better. Smiling he slid the ring onto her finger and kissed the top of it before looking up to her, his love, his soulmate, his Lily. 

“Is that a yes?” 

“Yes! Yes!A thousand times yes!” She said loudly with a tearful smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly before she placed a kiss onto his lips.

And for the first time, Jeralt didn’t think of his future as a bleak unknown. He imagined a life where they would have a humble home, on the edge of some lake. A life where his wife would be in the gardens showing their daughter, someone he imagined to look like his wife, all the different flowers and plants that they were growing. A future where he would teach his daughter how to fish, and they wouldn’t care about the chaos of the world beyond them. That he could live the rest of his life protecting his family.His future no longer looked like he’d meet his demise on the battlefield, alone and wondering if this life was worth it all. He saw a future that was so bright and full that he didn’t know it was possible. 

Their wedding had been small and quaint, with Aldonis crying loudly. Saying things such as that the captain never looked happier. With Rhea giving her their blessing, especially blessing the child that was to come. Their future looked so bright and cheerful, and for a moment, he was distracted from the feeling that something terribly could go wrong. 

His wife was glowing as the pregnancy progressed. They shared a little apartment in the monastery, a small place that Rhea had bestowed upon them until they could find a proper home for their growing family. 

“What do you think about the name Byleth?” 

“Isn’t that the king of hell? I thought you said we were having a daughter.” 

“Yes, and stop questioning a mother’s intuition. I think it’d be sort of nice.In Dagda, it is common for girls to get powerful names, even sometimes names that are usually male. It gives the name some power. And wouldn’t you want our daughter to raise hell if need be?” 

“Does the character name come out from the book you’re reading? What is it that you’re even reading?” He asked from behind the kitchen counter as he saw the way she smile as she turned the page, one hand rubbing her growing stomach. 

“A fairytale book from Dagda. And yes, Byleth does appear, but rather than some ominous king of hell, the character is more—mysterious. They don’t even give Byleth a gender. They are just known as the ruler of demons and fallen ones. It’s a story of outcasts being led by a smart sometimes misunderstood leader. My brother had sent it over. Said he saw it and knew that he had to gift to to his future niece.Saying that she should learn just as much about Dagda as Fodlan. Says she can't forget her mother's roots” There was a soft smile as she picture her brother, stoic but his eyes glowing warm at the sight of a simple book. “He said he still wishes to spar with you. Saying how you never earned my hand when you never bested him in battle.” 

“Your brother? The young mercenary that got bested by an arrow. I mean I’ve heard great things about the young woman who did it, but still—amusing that he thinks he can take me. Wait, you told him you thought our child is a girl?” 

“I told him I know it’s a girl.” Lilith said with a soft smile as she kept rubbing her stomach.

“How do you know it’s a she?” he questioned as he cooked them some dinner. “I mean—other than your instincts? I mean the baby kicks like no other, as if it’s fighting to get out. It could mean it’s a boy.” 

“I have dreams. Dreams of a little girl with long hair and sharp eyes, sleeping on top of a throne. Her hair is almost—green but I think that’s just the lighting of the room. And don’t you know how formidable Dagda women are? A matriarchal country that prides itself on their sharp ability to hunt. I know that this is my little girl, my sweet girl that may be a greater soldier than yourself, Jeralt.” 

“Mnmn, maybe I shall teach her to swing a sword before she can dance.” 

“You probably will.” 

“You wouldn’t mind that?” 

“I’m not a fool, Jeralt. I grew up in a family of mercenaries. I came to the church learning to be a healer so I can protect and save those I love. I fell in love with a mercenary. I know what this world is like. I know that a rebellion, maybe even a war is just around the corner. I would rather my daughter be strong, capable, and be able to protect herself than lock her away in some tower just so I can pretend that I am keeping her safe.”

“So, what about this house, it’s close enough to the monas—“

“What if we don’t buy a house here?” Looking up from the papers the landlords had given him, he stared at his wife who had been staring out the window to see the courtyard of the monastery. 

“I thought you wanted to live near the church?”

“Hmn.”

“Lilith…what’s wrong?” Getting up from the table and wrapping his arms around his wife, he tucked is head onto her shoulder and kissed the side of her neck. “You can tell me.” 

“I feel like I’m being watched here.” He stiffened at the words, was someone targeting his wife? Was she in danger in any way? His grip stiffening around her. “It’s not an evil presence, my dear. It’s more like—The monks, Rhea—they are watching over me, monitoring me. Rhea in particular, I think she’s worried. I’m not sure. They keep—Asking about me, asking about the child. Asking—I’m sure they are asking out of the goodness of their heart, but I feel like there’s something more.” 

“So, where shall we go? Where do you wish to go?” 

“You have family in the Alliance, don’t you?” 

“Some in the Kingdom as well but they are distant, I don’t even know their names. Hardly could call them family. Do you wish to go back to Dagda?”

“No with the rumors of impending war with them and the Empire. I don’t want our child to grow up in a war.” 

“There’s always going to be a war.”  


“I know that—I just—Maybe we don’t even need a permeant home. Maybe we can—I want our child to see all of it. I want our child to see the snow from the Kingdom. I want them to see the Aquatic capital of the Alliance and Fodlan’s Throat where they could see Almaryans and see their culture. Not just listen to the baseless rumors that they spew here in Fodaln. I want her to be able to go to the Empire and learn of it’s deep history. To go to Dagda and—I don’t want her life to be confined in the walls of the church. I want her to be able to make friends with everyone, with all walks of life. I want her to be able to see the world. Experience the world and not just a small part of it.” 

“That could be done.” 

“How?” 

“We can be a pair of mercenaries.I shall be the fighter, you the healer. A traveling band of people that make ends meet by taking on small jobs, showing our child how beautiful this world could be.”

“You think so? You would give up your position as Captain of the Knight of—“  


“I never cared too much for the church. And if it’s what you want, Lilith. I would do anything.” 

“You are a good man, Jerlat.” 

“A man that loves his wife would travel to the ends of the world for her.” 

“I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Byleth's mother coming from Dagda and having a brother really stems from the support with Shamir, and how Byleth reminds her of her first love in the way he looks and acts. Even to the intonation in which they speak. Which to me indicated that Byleth's mother is probably from that area and looks a lot like Byleth with her blue hair.
> 
> The concept of naming her Lily draws from her love of flowers and just, Lilith really just suited her as the name with that and the religious meaning behind it. 
> 
> And finally, the reason why I didn't really want to write out the death of her mother, was because there's not much that we can talk about there except a woman who died at childbirth and I wanted to show the happy moments. 
> 
> I may expand on this fic more? Or maybe do flashbacks cause I did enjoy writing Jeralt before we meet him aka the diary version of Jeralt. I do want to write out more of Prequel Byleth? Like her life as a mercenary, her own first love, and Jeralt's experience as a single father.


End file.
